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Jowell & Randy are a beloved, charting, and well-traveled reggaeton duo from Puerto Rico whose danceable mixes are almost as popular as their canny and often hilarious rhymes. Since the beginning of the 21st century, they've issued dozens of singles, albums, and mixtapes, making them a bankable live attraction and a reliable chart commodity. Their 2010 album, El Momento, landed at number two on the Top Latin Albums chart while 2013's Sobredoxis placed at number ten. Jowell & Randy have remained regular collaborators within the Latin and reggaeton communities; two of their biggest hits came near the end of the decade with 2017's "Bonita" featuring J Balvin and 2019's "Dile la Verdad" with Manuel Turizo. Their success continued with 2020's gold-certified Viva el Perreo and then the back-to-back 2024 albums Viva La Musik and Mazorkeo.com.

Joel Muñoz Martínez and Randy Ortiz Acevedo spent years establishing themselves individually on the burgeoning reggaeton scene during the late '90s. It was only once they formally joined forces as a duo in 2001 that they truly began to make a mark in the recording industry. They were also simultaneously members of the reggaeton recording and touring project known as Casa de Leones. The pair issued their debut single, "Agresivo" (featuring Arcángel), in 2006, followed by the self-titled Casa de Leones album and their own mixtape Los Más Sueltos del Reggaetón a year later. While the album didn't chart, Jowell & Randy became popular enough to have their tracks appear as near-constant features on Boy Wonder's series of popular Chosen Few compilations. In addition, their profile increased when Randy's guest spots on De la Ghetto's "Sensacion del Bloque" (2006) and Tito el Bambino's "Siente el Boom" (2007), both achieved hit status. Just before releasing El Momento in 2010, the pair issued their fifth mixtape, the 19-track Tengan Paciencia. They issued five singles that year including "Loco," which peaked at number three on the Tropical Songs chart.

After touring relentlessly through 2011, Jowell & Randy reentered the studio and released the mixtape Predoxis and the full-length Sobredoxis, which netted six singles over the next two years including "Báilalo a Lo Loco" (featuring 3Ball MTY). Their 2014 mixtape, Under Doxis, produced another three club smashes including "Lo Que Quiero," which peaked at number 11 on the Latin Rhythms chart, as well as four charting singles in collaborations: "Pa' La Pared" (with Cosculluela), "Bella Que Que" (with R.K.M.), "She Likes My Reggae" (with Gomba Jahbari), and "Lentamente" (with J Álvarez and Zion & Lennox). Another mixtape, La Alcaldía del Perreo, was issued in 2016 and featured the lead single and video for "Guadalupe," followed by two more videos for "La Pista Revienta" and "Me Prefieren" (featuring Nengo Flow). Music videos for the Mr. Williamz remix of "Guadalupe" and album track "Posición 4" came out in 2017. That same year, Jowell & Randy issued the single "Bonita" (featuring J Balvin); it topped the Mexican singles chart.

Given their intense travel schedule that took the pair across Europe and South America, they didn't get back into the studio for more than a year. They issued "Dile la Verdad" (featuring Manuel Turizo) in early 2019, followed by their sixth full-length effort, Viva el Perreo, in 2020. The album went gold and reached number five on Billboard's Latin chart, yielding another J Balvin-assisted hit in "Anaranjado." Over the next few years, Jowell & Randy appeared occasionally as collaborators on tracks with De La Ghetto (2021's "Perreo Intenso"), Maluma (2023's "Copas"), and others. When they did re-emerge, it was with a deluge of new music. In June 2024, the duo released Viva La Musik, a 16-track album featuring guests like Wisin & Yandel, Rauw Alejandro, and Nicky Jam. Five months later, they issued their second full-length album of the year, Mazorkeo.com, which featured only one guest spot by Myke Towers. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Manuel Turizo (full name Manuel Turizo Zapata) is an urbano and reggaeton singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Colombia whose trademark is his smooth, buttery, tenor singing voice. He has made major global inroads into the Latin pop mainstream. His 2016 hit "Una Lady Como Tú" was the winner of a Colombian Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Song in 2017. He released his debut long-player, ADN, for the Medellin-based, Sony-distributed La Industria Inc. It peaked at number eight on the Top Latin Albums chart. The following year, he joined Ozuna for the Top Five smash "Vaina Loca." He collaborated with Noriel on "Mala Influencia" in 2020, and the following year released his sophomore album, the charting Dopamina. He appeared later in 2021 in a duet with TINI on her streaming hit single "Maldita Foto." 2000, which included the smash hit "La Bachata," appeared in 2023. A string of popular singles followed in 2024, including the hit "1000 Cosas" with Lola Indigo.

Turizo was born into a musical household -- his mother and older brother are musicians. In interviews he has described participating in music as compulsory. As a child he learned to play saxophone, guitar, ukulele, and piano. While his initial career choice was to become a veterinarian, his brother Julian convinced him to take singing lessons with a Cuban teacher, and the end result -- personally discovering his talent as a singer -- altered the course of his life. (Because of his early success as a professional musician, he had to finish his studies via internet courses.)

In 2016, his first two self-released singles, "Baila Conmigo" and "Vámonos" (both produced by his brother), racked up positive responses on social media and garnered excitement from industry insiders. On March 16, 2017, he released "Una Lady Como Tú" along with a video clip -- the latter went viral with some 300 million views. He signed to the Sony Music-distributed La Industria Inc. label. The track made the Top 40 of the Hot Latin Songs chart and scored even higher on three others including Digital Song Sales, Latin Pop Songs, and YouTube charts. After opening for Ozuna on a Colombian tour, he undertook his own national run of trendy clubs and discos, selling all of them out.

In May 2017, reggaeton singer Valentino released the song "Bésame" featuring Turizo. The video single got 50 million views, and Turizo gained international exposure. In August, he released a remix version of "Una Lady Como Tú" featuring Nicky Jam that got airplay all over Latin America and in the United States. He reached number six on the Columbian charts with 2018's "Culpables," which was included on his 2019 full-length debut, ADN. The album hit number four in Mexico and cracked the Top Ten of Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.

That same year, Turizo scored an even bigger hit with "Desconocidos" featuring Mau y Ricky and Camilo. Likewise, the 2019 collaboration with Jowell & Randy, "Dile la Verdad," reached number two and was quickly followed by the platinum-selling "Esclavo de Tus Besos" with Ozuna. The following year, Turizo again landed on the Latin charts with "La Nota" featuring Rauw Alejandro and Myke Towers, and collaborated with Noriel on "Mala Influencia." In early 2021, he released the single "Mala Costumbre" with Wisin & Yandel, and in April he released Dopamina, his sophomore long-player. It peaked at 15 on the Top Latin Albums chart and placed inside the Top 20 across streaming platforms. Later that year he appeared as TINI's duet partner on her smash single "Maldita Foto." Among his 2022 releases was another major hit, "La Bachata." Along with the hits "Éxtasis" and "El Merengue," the song anchored Turizo's third long-player, 2000, released in 2023, which reached number 11 on the Latin Albums chart. Collaborations with Sean Paul and Shakira followed and in October, he issued the solo single "ojos. labios. cara." Turizo kept up his busy release schedule throughout 2024 which included prominent singles like "1000 Cosas" with Lola Indigo, "Sussy" with Maffa and Ñengo Flow, and the solo track "Dios Te Cuide." ~ Thom Jurek